Key brain circuit regulating hibernation found at last - Science | AAAS

Dona Maria is a straight-talking, middle-aged Black woman, whose videos criticizing the policies of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva amassed millions of views on social media earlier this year. “They line their pockets with our sweat!” she says in one clip about a supposed increase in electricity bills. But “Dona Maria” isn’t a Brazilian voter – or even human. She’s a hyperrealistic avatar, created by artificial intelligence. As countries around the globe are voting in increasingly AI-saturated elections, Brazil is on the front lines of trying to regulate the technology’s use in the electoral context. Its election authority, the Superior Electoral Court, passed broad rules this year, including requiring AI-generated campaign material to carry clear labels and prohibiting the use of AI to impersonate candidates. In the United States, at least 31 states have enacted local legislation with similar rules. But globally, election regulation regarding AI has “been perceived as a back burner issue” compared with other AI threats, says J. B. Branch, director of federal AI governance and technology policy at Public Citizen, a U. S. consumer advocacy organization.